Rain Setup

**gladiator** · 08-26-2008, 06:01

What tricks do you hangers user to keep your hammocks dry while setting up in the rain? The obvious answer is to avoid setting up in the rain, but as we all know, that's not always possible. Do any of you HH owners leave the rain fly attached when you put the hammock back in the stuffsack or snakeskins?

Thanks,
Gladiator

**Just Jeff** · 08-26-2008, 06:05

I keep my tarp in my pack's outer pocket. When it rains, I set it up first w/o even removing my pack from under my packa. (A packa is like a fitted poncho...www.thepacka.com.) Then I have a dry place to open my pack and pull the hammock out. I set up the hammock from under the tarp as much as possible. When that's done, I take off my rain gear and finish unpacking, adjusting insulation, etc.

Breaking camp is the reverse - pack up everything except the tarp. At the end, the tarp gets wadded up and stuffed into the pack's outer pocket again.

Also keeps the tarp readily available for lunchtime if needed.

**canoebie** · 08-26-2008, 06:08

Originally Posted by gladiator

What tricks do you hangers user to keep your hammocks dry while setting up in the rain? The obvious answer is to avoid setting up in the rain, but as we all know, that's not always possible. Do any of you HH owners leave the rain fly attached when you put the hammock back in the stuffsack or snakeskins?

Thanks,
Gladiator

One of the things I love about hanging when I canoe is that in a rain or any other time, when I set up or tear down, I can stay dry and stand up. So different from a tent where I was on the ground crawling in and out on my hands and knees. This is one of the great unanticipated joys of hanging for me.

**oldsoldier** · 08-26-2008, 06:55

Yes, my HH tarp is separate from the hammock, and sits on top of it in a side pocket. That way, it gets put up first, so I can attempt to keep everything else dry.

**gladiator** · 08-27-2008, 21:03

Originally Posted by oldsoldier

Yes, my HH tarp is separate from the hammock, and sits on top of it in a side pocket. That way, it gets put up first, so I can attempt to keep everything else dry.

So you must have added lines to your tarp, allowing you to tie to the tree instead of clipping to the support line on your HH?

**riverkeeper** · 08-27-2008, 23:35

For rain?
Big tarp n little hammer on the lee side of and close to sumthin big.

**Youngblood** · 08-26-2008, 07:04

Originally Posted by gladiator

What tricks do you hangers user to keep your hammocks dry while setting up in the rain? The obvious answer is to avoid setting up in the rain, but as we all know, that's not always possible. Do any of you HH owners leave the rain fly attached when you put the hammock back in the stuffsack or snakeskins?

Thanks,
Gladiator

When setting up and taking down your hammock in the rain, you would like the first thing up and the last thing down to be your tarp so that you have a protected space. With a small tarp that may not be so obvious. Setting up, taking down, cooking, and just doing things while it is raining is one of those things that the size of the tarp makes a noticeable difference.

That said, bigger is not always best. Even ignoring weight and bulk, sometimes a smaller tarp is preferred. Larger tarps block more view and wind, and can require larger spaces to set them up. There is such a thing as being too small or too large, but is often a matter of personnel preference combined with the particular conditions one expects to be in. In my geographic area I can classifying different tarp sizes as summer, three season, and winter tarps.

**Just Jeff** · 08-26-2008, 18:31

Originally Posted by Youngblood

That said, bigger is not always best. Even ignoring weight and bulk, sometimes a smaller tarp is preferred. Larger tarps block more view and wind, and can require larger spaces to set them up. There is such a thing as being too small or too large, but is often a matter of personnel preference combined with the particular conditions one expects to be in.

Great point, Dave. I really like the MacCat Standard when I hang alone, but many others think it's too small and prefer the Deluxe (or the many other options available now - SWT, JRB, etc). I like it for exactly the reasons you mention - weight and view being the main reasons. I like laying in my hammock and looking out from under the tarp 360* when possible...tougher to do with a wider hammock that reaches closer to the ground.

But when I hang with Joker under the same tarp, it's not quite big enough. Sometimes "conditions" are dependent on more than what you find in the woods. I'm thinking ~10'x12' with a bit of a cat cut. Although this does limit site selection a bit.

**Hooch** · 08-26-2008, 18:37

After a suggestion some time ago from Cannibal, I'm fond of keeping mine in an outside mesh pocket of my pack. Easy to get to and set up in the rain.

**slowhike** · 08-26-2008, 20:48

Originally Posted by Just Jeff

I like laying in my hammock and looking out from under the tarp 360* when possible...tougher to do with a wider hammock that reaches closer to the ground.

Yep, when I'm using a somewhat wider tarp, unless there is wind & or rain to be blocked, I like to hang it high & wide for the view.